Tehachapi

Last weekend I drove up to Tehachapi, CA to spend an afternoon driving around, exploring and taking pictures. The weekend before I was driving on CA 58 for the first time ever and was blown away by the natural beauty of land near Tehachapi and the Tejon Ranch. I was on my way to a family session and didn't have time to stop - so I came back a week later.

This area is now officially on my list of favorite places in California. I wish I could go back in time and see what our state looked like before people came and built crap all over the place. Untouched places like this give us a glimpse into the beautiful California we have lost. I can't wait to go back and explore some more.

Here are my favorites from the day. It was raining a bit in the early afternoon which led to some cool lighting, cloud-filled sky's, a few rainbows, and a sweet sunset! I lucked out in choosing to go that day...Enjoy!

Newport Bokeh

Today I went out right after sunset to the beach for a walk and some pictures. I have taken enough sunset pictures and wanted to capture the colors of the evening sky. I only took my 50mm prime lens and wanted to try something different - not just take my usual pictures. I started playing around with the bokeh of the pier lights and really liked the results.

Monterey: Point Lobos

I was going through old pics on my computer and came across these. They were taken this summer, in August I think. My mom and I went down to Monterey to go for a short hike thorugh Point Lobos State Reserve with my cousins who were visiting from Washington D.C.

Point Lobos has been called: "The Greatest Meeting of Land and Water in the World" - I believe by Robert Louis Stevenson.

It was a bit cloudy that day but still a beautiful place to be!

Mammoth Lakes, 2008

Every year I get the privilege of travelling to one of my favorites places in California - Mammoth Lakes. Each summer I go in late July/early August for a few weeks of training at the Altitude Project a Christian distance running camp (http://www.altitudeproject.com/). Then in the middle of September, our team goes up for one week.

Mammoth Lakes is beautiful and there is plenty to take pictures of as well as surrounding Eastern Sierra areas including Owen's Valley, and Mono Lake.

Here are a few pictures from my travels there this year.



Owen's Valley looking toward Convict Lake.

Owen's Valley by moonlight. One of the most beautiful nights I have seen!:

Backpacking the Wind River Mountains, Wyoming

My Dad and I flew from Virginia to Salt Lake City, Utah where we rented a car and drove up to the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming for an 8-day backpacking adventure. We have been backpacking in the same range since I was a kid and it was a special trip for both of us. As you can see by the pictures it was beautiful in the back country and well worth the long trip to get there!